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This is the first post in the finals diaries series, which follows a group of students through their quest to improve their study habits in time for spring exams. We start with Travis, a freshman physics major from Caltech. In May, he faces a brutal multivariate calculus exam. This leaves him a little less than a month to toss out his existing habits, which he candidly describes as “less than stellar,” and embrace a more efficient academic lifestyle.

Plan A

As with all of my volunteers, I asked Travis to describe his current plan for preparing for this test. He replied:

It will boil down to taking a couple of weeks before finals and figuring out what I don’t know, trying to brush up on what I may have forgotten, and doing some example problems.

This, of course, is exactly the type of vagueness that drives students to last minute scrambles and incomplete preparation. Luckily, Travis still has time to change his ways.

UPDATE (4/9/09):I have chosen my four volunteers for this series. The application is now closed. If you haven’t received an e-mail from me, assume you weren’t chosen. I received over 70 volunteers within the first 24 hours! Thank you everyone who offered their help. I think this series will be a lot of fun. Stay tuned…

A Few Good Volunteers

I’m launching a new series this spring in which I follow a group of students through their preparations for final exams. The students I follow will get personal advice from me on how best to structure their studying. My goal is to provide a realistic view of study habit rehabilitation — often a messy process!

If you’re interested in participating, e-mail me the following: your school, your major, and the dates of your final exam period.

I predict I’ll get many more volunteers than I can accommodate, so I apologize in advance if I can’t fit everyone in.

About the Study Hacks Blog

I'm a computer science professor exploring how people reach elite levels in knowledge work careers. I used to write a lot of student advice (which you can still find in the blog archive). If you're new to Study Hacks, start here.

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